School buses are presently equipped with a variety of mirrors for use in assisting the driver to view surroundings and the situation around all areas of the bus. Presently, one or more rear view mirrors are positioned on each side of the school buses so that the driver can view the situation along the sides of the school bus and in the distance behind the school bus. In addition, school buses are provided in their front forward corners with cross-view mirrors. Cross-view mirrors are generally convex in shape and provide the driver with a field of view in the front of the bus and along the sides of the bus so that the driver can see children crossing in front of the bus and walking along the sides of the bus.
When the bus is moving, the driver uses the two side view mirrors in the same manner that the driver's use rearview mirrors on passenger cars. Also, in some buses, a centrally located rearview mirror located inside the bus is utilized to view the situation immediately behind the bus. The cross-view mirrors are utilized by the bus drivers when the vehicle is stopped and passengers are loading and unloading. All of those mirrors are relatively large in size and create blind spots obstructing the driver's view in one manner or another.
Improved systems for allowing the bus drivers to view the situation and environment around the bus are needed.